India: Border Challenges In Tripura – Analysis

Tripura remains free of terrorism. The year 2024 marked a milestone achievement in the state of Tripura, where Chief Minister Manik Saha announced the state “insurgent-free or zero insurgency” with the signing of the peace agreement, the Memorandum of Settlement (MoS), on September 4, 2024, between the Government of India (GoI), the Government of Tripura, the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), in the presence of the Union Home Minister (UHM) Amit Shah, at North Block, in New Delhi.

The agreement followed the laying down of arms ceremony on September 24, 2024, where the ‘presidents’ of the Biswamohan Debbarma faction of the NLFT (NLFT-BM), Biswamohan Debbarma; the Parimal Debbarma faction of the NLFT (NLFT-PD), Parimal Debbarma; NLFT Original (NLFT-ORI), Prasenjit Debbarma; and ATTF’s Alindra Debbarma handed over their AK series rifles. Also, a total of 584 cadres of NLFT and ATTF laid down their arms: NLFT-BM, 261 cadres; NLFT-PD and NLFT-ORI, 100 cadres each; and ATTF, 123 cadres. The weapons handed over included 89 country-made guns, 13 pistols, nine AK series rifles, eight factory-made guns, seven land mines, one revolver and one rifle.

According to official figures, between September 24, 2024, and December 11, 2024, a total of 902 cadres of NLFT, ATTF and other groups abjured violence and joined the mainstream of society. No further surrenders have taken place thereafter.

On May 20, 2024, before these developments, an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) Tribunal had declared NLFT and ATTF and their factions, wings, and front organisations, unlawful associations, stating that their cadres were involved in kidnapping for ransom, extortion, etc. The notification highlighted that the two groups sought to create an independent nation by secession of Tripura from India through armed struggle, in alliance with other armed secessionist organisations of Tripura, and to incite the indigenous people of Tripura. It further noted that NLFT had been working in close nexus with other North-East insurgent organisations having their bases in Bangladesh, including the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL), Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) and Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC). The ATTF had connections with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO).

For long years, since the inception of NLFT on March 12, 1989, and ATTF in 1993, which was originally named All Tripura Tribal Force (formed on July 11, 1990), the two militant outfits have been involved in violent activities, with the common objectives of deporting all foreigners who entered Tripura after 1956 and restoring alienated tribal lands.

The present agreement is, however, an example of militant outfits choosing a peaceful path to resolve the issues surrounding the indigenous population of Tripura.

The decline in the number of insurgent-related incidents and fatalities in Tripura was one of the factors that made this possible. According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), since 2010, fatalities have been recorded in single digits for eight of the 15 years, while no fatality was reported in the remaining seven years (data till March 16, 2025). There was a total of 13 insurgent-related killing incidents in which 16 fatalities were recorded [five civilians, seven Security Force (SF) personnel and four terrorists] from 2010 to March 16, 2025. Of these, NLFT was involved in 10 incidents, including two NLFT-BM-related incidents in 2021 and 2022, while ATTF was involved in only one incident, on January 4, 2023, which also resulted in the last reported insurgent-related fatality in Tripura. Of the remaining, two incidents involved the Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF), while the third could not be attributed to any identified militant group.

Moreover, since March 6, 2000, a total of 3,824 militants have surrendered in the state.

2024 and 2025 (to date) have not reported any arrests associated with particular insurgent outfits. The trends of arrest, in recent times, have been associated with the possession of firearms. Some of the incidents of this kind in 2025 include:

February 13: Police arrested Rajkumar Debnath and Palash Pal from South Jagatpur in Sidhai, Tripura’s West District, in connection with a case registered under the Arms Act in December 2024. Police recovered a 7mm pistol along with an empty magazine from the residence of Rajkumar Debnath on February 15.
February 7: In a joint operation with the Border Security Force (BSF), Police arrested Anjan Das from Konaban Radhanagar in Sepahijala and recovered a pistol and three live rounds from his possession.
January 25: Police carried out an operation and arrested two persons, Niraj Kumar and Indar Mukhia, in possession of a pistol, from the Dharmanagar Sub-division of North Tripura District.

At least 13 insurgents were arrested in six separate incidents in 2023. The last insurgent-related arrest was on December 16, 2023, when the Tripura Police arrested three NLFT-PD militants – self-styled ‘major’ Ganaram Rang aka Baileng, Rai Bahadur Reang and Rai Taingha Reang – from the Khasnam Para Bru Settlement Camp in North Tripura District. A total of 1,114 militants have been arrested in Tripura since March 6, 2000.

The MoS of September 2024 is accompanied by aid, rehabilitation and relief packages. In the latest agreement, the Centre approved a special INR 2.5 billion package for the development of the tribal population in Tripura. A monthly stipend of INR 6,000 and a fixed deposit of INR 400,000 for each of the rebels who renounce violence, with the deposit accessible after a three-year lock-in period, were also promised.

However, the likelihood that packages announced and promises made at the time of the agreement being fulfilled remain bleak. On February 21, 2025, Tripura United Indigenous Revolutionary Peoples’ Council (TUIRPC) leader Daniel Borok Debbarma announced a protest aimed at pressing their 21-point charter of demands, with support from all surrendered militant organisations. On February 25, 2025, the organisation staged a daylong blockade on the Assam-Agartala National Highway at Hatai Kotor in West Tripura District, which is the fifth protest of such kind over the past years. The demands included rehabilitation, land allotment, housing, and economic assistance for surrendered militants. The group claimed that the Government failed to fulfil its promises and had not done anything for surrendered militants over the past 30 to 35 years despite assurances. TUIRPC leader Daniel Borok Debbarma stated,

The government made numerous promises, but none have been realised. Many of our demands remain pending, which is why we have resorted to this road blockade as a form of protest. This is the fifth time we are taking such an action. Our key demands include the withdrawal of all court and police cases against us. Even now, we are being summoned by the police for various cases. We were promised pucca houses, but none have been provided. We also demand the use of the Roman script for the Kokborok language, replacing the current Bengali script. Additionally, the government must ensure proper infrastructure, including water, electricity, and roads, in rehabilitation areas. Free education for our children from Class 1 up to the university level must also be guaranteed.

In response, Minister of Tribal Welfare Department Bikash Debbarma met with representatives of TUIRPC on March 4, 2025, and assured them of the Government’s support, adding, “The government is committed to addressing the issues of surrendered militants. We will work towards resolving their grievances at the earliest.”

Meanwhile, the porous international border with Bangladesh (parts of Tripura’s 856-km-long border with Bangladesh are still unfenced due to local disputes) remains a hindrance, with numerous infiltration attempts by Bangladeshis and Rohingyas owing to the tumultuous conditions in the neighbouring country. As reported on November 3, 2024, Chief Minister Saha urged UHM Amit Shah to take steps to complete the unfenced border. Saha observed, in this regard,

We are all keeping watch on the situation in Bangladesh and it may take time to practically see its possible impact on our ties with the country. But since we have seen an increase in influx, we have raised the matter with the Centre and sought complete fencing of the border.

According to an official release by the Border Security Force (BSF) on December 1, 2024, a total of 675 illegal immigrants, including 55 Rohingyas, 620 Bangladeshi nationals and 260 Indian nationals, were apprehended by the BSF’s Tripura Frontier in various operations, from January 1 to November 30, 2024. The BSF added contraband worth more than INR 46 crore was seized, including substantial quantities of narcotics. The seizures included 66,316 bottles of Phensedyl, 9,203.24 kilograms of cannabis, 605,334 Yaba tablets, 1,222,894.5 kilograms of sugar, 496.26 grams of gold, 381.01 grams of brown sugar, one pistol and 210 rounds of ammunition.

Both the border guard organisations, BSF and Bangladesh Border Guard (BBG), collaborated in addressing the security challenges of the two nations. However, the political situation in Bangladesh has had a ripple effect in Tripura. On December 2, 2024, a protest was launched in front of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner in Agartala, focusing on atrocities against Hindu minorities and a demand for the release of Hindu leader and ISKCON member Chinmoy Das Prabhu. The protest was also joined by a right-wing organization, called Hindu Sangharsh Samity. In response to the protest, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) took up security measures and emphasised that “diplomatic and consular properties should not be targeted under any circumstances.”

As Tripura reached its milestone in achieving the zero-insurgency status, with a larger vision of the Government of India’s policy towards “insurgency-free, peaceful and prosperous North East”, the issue of addressing the grievances of surrendered militants lingers on. The Government must revisit its surrender cum rehabilitation programme and address the protracted failures of implementation. Moreover, the state is crippled by other challenges, particularly along its international border with Bangladesh. The influx of illegal migrants along the border, part of the larger border crisis across India’s Northeast, needs to be addressed at the earliest, as it constitutes a serious security threat.